Rivalry
by OfficialYamaYama
Summary: The day they stepped into the gym, neither of them expected to be reminded of their rivals. Neither of them expected to not be rivals. Neither of them expected, as they locked eyes, to be a powerhouse team in and of themselves, a powerhouse duo, a pair of aces.
1. Introduction

Hinata remembered him. He remembered the smirk on his face when his own team of misfit toys was crushed by a powerhouse middle school. He remembered the way he would spit the word 'King' from his mouth whenever addressing that team that slaughtered him, but that boy was a one-man team, and he remembered the thought of being part of that team.

Kageyama remembered him. Though he cared not to admit it, he remembered the boy that soared on wings that never existed. He remembered the way that boy made him believe in people with wings. He remembered the boy's promise to beat him. He remembered the determination in his eyes, and the coldness in his own.

The day they stepped into the gym, neither of them expected to be reminded of their rivals. Neither of them expected to _not_ be rivals. Neither of them expected, as they locked eyes, to be a powerhouse team in and of themselves, a powerhouse duo, a pair of aces.

Rivalry aside, Hinata _really_ wanted to hit one of Kageyama's tosses. He remembered the sharpness, the speed, sheer _power_. Hinata wanted to prove that he could be there, that he could meet Kageyama halfway, that he could be Kageyama's other half.

Of course, he couldn't really receive a toss when neither of them were allowed to step foot in the gym. They would need to prove themselves to be a part of the team. Hinata would need to prove himself to Kageyama.

First, though, Hinata would have to be able to receive.

Kageyama didn't know what he was getting into with Hinata. He hadn't expected such a small boy to have such a large stamina-he was tossing nearly five hundred tosses to the boy during any breaks they got, and Hinata wasn't backing down. Kageyama liked to say the only reason he was doing it was so that they could get back to the gym. He liked to tell himself that Hinata would never be half of what his other teammates were, but Hinata kept trying, and Kageyama kept denying. He denied everything. He denied Hinata's strength and his ability to be a well-rounded player-that is, until one day.

"Hey," Hinata's chest heaved as he spoke. The two were leaning against a tree in the park they were practicing at. Sweat beaded on Hinata's forehead and he pulled his shirt up to wipe it away. They had just finished two sets of a hundred receives, and between Hinata running after askew receives and Hinata yelling about a toss being unfair, he was out of breath.

Kageyama glanced over at him. He was less tired, since he was only tossing; in fact, his insult-hurling made him out of breath more than the actual tossing did. "What?" he asked, cocking his head to the side with curiosity.

"It's the night before the match," Hinata mumbled.

"Yeah? So?"

"Can I come over tonight? To practice?"

Kageyama stared in disbelief. "You want to come over?" he repeated.

"Well, yeah," Hinata straightened up. He reached for the water bottle he'd brought, took a long drink, then continued. "I think it would be better to practice somewhere other than the park every night. This isn't necessarily the best part of town." He noticed Kageyama going pale and felt embarrassed for asking so suddenly. "I mean-we could go to my house-"

"I haven't had anyone over since elementary," Kageyama mumbled. Hinata started to apologize, but Kageyama cut him off. "Let's do it, only for tonight. We have to prove that we can work together to be able to get anywhere."

"Right!" Hinata beamed, and Kageyama wondered how this kid could always be so damn _happy_. He had the slight urge to smack the grin right off his face. Before he could, however, Hinata was running back towards the area they'd been practicing in, and Kageyama was trailing behind him.

"Oi, Kageyama, what's up with you?" Hinata asked. Kageyama hadn't been hurling his usual insults at Hinata, and he was starting to get worried. "Are you sick or something?"

"I'm not sick, dumbass," Kageyama growled. He tossed it hard to Hinata, and Hinata got a mouthful of grass as he dove for it. He hit it just over Kageyama's head.

"What's up with you, then?" Hinata responded as he stood up and brushed himself off. Kageyama frowned. Why was this boy so concerned?

"Nothing's up," he responded sharply. "One more set and then you go home. My parents will be home soon."

"Did you not tell them I was coming over? Is that why you're worried?" Hinata pressed the matter.

"Dumbass, I'm not worried! They just don't know you very well," Kageyama muttered. He tossed the ball to Hinata before he could get even nosier. Hinata received the ball, genuinely received it, and Kageyama's jaw dropped. He hadn't expected the boy to receive such a hard toss, and after three sets nonetheless. Hinata beamed like a ray of sun.

"How was that for a receive?!" Hinata squealed. Kageyama clicked his tongue.

"Right, that was one of _how many_?" he sneered. Hinata growled.

"Rude," he muttered.

They finished up their set just as the sun started going down, and Kageyama's mother pulled into the driveway. She got out of the car and walked across the yard to Kageyama to kiss his forehead. Kageyama blushed in embarrassment, and though he wanted to, he didn't push her away. "Tobio, who's your friend?" she asked, smiling over at Hinata.

Hinata bowed his head. "I'm Hinata Shouyou," he said at the ground.

"He came over to practice volleyball," Kageyama explained.

"Oh! It's so nice to meet you, Hinata!" she beamed. Hinata looked up at her and smiled back just as brightly.

"Sorry for the intrusion," he said. Kageyama's mother shook her head.

"It's not a problem! Tobio hasn't had a friend over since elementary-"

"Mom, Hinata was just saying how he had to get home," Kageyama interrupted. His ears were red with embarrassment.

"Oh, what a shame," she sighed. "Are you sure you can't stay for dinner?"

"My mother needs me home, but thank you," Hinata smiled politely. "It was very nice to meet you. See you tomorrow, Kageyama?" he called, already going to grab his bag off the porch.

"Alright," Kageyama agreed as he watched Hinata grab his bike from the grass where he'd dropped it. The two watched Hinata quietly as he began to pedal away. When he turned the corner and disappeared out of sight, Kageyama's mother nudged his side.

"So, what's so special about Hinata-kun?" she asked sweetly.

"Nothing," Kageyama muttered, but he knew it was a lie.

"Well, he's very nice. Tell him he's welcome anytime."

"This is a one-time thing."

"Hm?" She and Kageyama started towards the door. "Well, if it's a one-time, then tell him he's welcome one time," she joked. Kageyama clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes.

"He's the other boy who I'm playing with in that match tomorrow," Kageyama explained.

"Oh!" she cried. "You two seem to make a good duo. Maybe he'll be able to receive that tough set of yours!"

Kageyama tensed at the thought and his mother apologized quickly. "Sorry, sorry," she shook her hands in apology. "I'm making pork curry tonight," she changed the subject.

"Pork curry," Kageyama repeated with a dazed smile. His mother laughed.

"Tobio, will you help me get the groceries from the car?"

Hinata barely slept that night. He was too excited for his chance to really prove himself. Up until then, everything had been about Kageyama, and he wanted people to notice him too. He was Hinata Shouyou, for crying out loud! He could jump! He could...well, he could basically only jump, but he could jump pretty high!

He groaned into his pillow, wondering why he couldn't have been blessed with height like that jerk Tsukkishima or amazing skill like Kageyama. He wondered how different things would have been if he were one hundred ninety centimeters. He wouldn't be able to be just like the Little Giant. Would he even have looked up to the Little Giant? Would he even be attending Karasuno? Would he have lost that match against the King?

His spinning mind kept him up nearly all night. He stared at the clock as it neared three in the morning. His phone buzzed under his pillow, scaring him so much that he fell off his bed with a dull thud. He grumbled angrily and squinted at the screen.

It was Kageyama.

' _R u awake?_ '

Hinata sighed. He had only given Kageyama his number so they could plan out when they would practice, and they rarely texted besides that. Still, he responded.

'cant sleep, wby?'

' _Obvi neither can I since Im texting u_ '

'do u think well lose?'

' _No way in hell Im losing to that jackass_.'

Hinata held back a laugh. Kageyama sure was angry. He wondered if Kageyama was ever _not_ angry.

'will u toss to me? ;)'

' _Maybe if ur not a complete idiot on the court tomorrow_.'

Hinata grumbled something under his breath and was about to respond when Kageyama sent another text. ' _My mom says ur welcome to come over anytime, btw_.'

Hinata was surely confused. Kageyama had told her it was a one-time thing, right? They only did that so they would be more prepared. 'i thought that was a one-time thing?'

' _Well she really likes u._ '

'oh well im glad :)'

' _Im gonna try and get some sleep before the match. Dont screw it up for me._ '

'ill try not to lol'

Hinata put his phone under his pillow again, expecting Kageyama to leave him on read, but a few seconds later his phone buzzed again. He opened the text. ' _Goodnight._ '

'night!' he responded, setting his phone on his bedside table. He glanced at the clock. 3:14. He sighed and closed his eyes, burying his face in his pillow. He had stopped thinking about the match and instead was thinking about hitting one of Kageyama's tosses tomorrow right in that smug Tsukkishima's face.


	2. Competition

Practice had just finished up and Daichi had dismissed the team to go to the club room and change. Hinata skipped by Kageyama's side. They'd been on the team for a month and a half already, but it still felt very new and every practice still left Hinata feeling more energetic than he had before. Kageyama, however, held a straight face as he followed Tanaka into the club room.

Despite his promise, Kageyama and Hinata hung out at Kageyama's house often. Kageyama's mom was usually the one to invite Hinata to stay for dinner after the two came in the house when the sun would begin to set. Sometimes Kageyama would even invite Hinata to stay and study with him. The two both mutually agreed that their hanging out outside of school was so that they could easier blend on the court and truly become the powerhouse duo they were expected to be.

Tonight was one of the nights that Kageyama invited Hinata over to practice. "We need to work on our quick," he explained, looking down at his shoes as he suggested the idea.

"I'd love to come over!" Hinata said quickly. Though he would rather not admit it, Kageyama was one of the only people he ever saw outside of school, unless one of his old friends from junior high asked to hang out, which happened less and less after school started.

"Oi, you spend a lot of time at the King's house," Tsukkishima piped in with his usual monotonous, condescending voice. "It's getting suspicious."

"Suspicious how?" Hinata questioned. While he was oblivious, Kageyama grew more and more embarrassed.

"It isn't like that," he growled.

"The King's getting defensive? Hm, seems fishy to me," Tsukki smirked. Before Kageyama could hurl insults, Tsukkishima and Yamaguchi were out the door, and Kageyama and Hinata were alone.

"What did Tsukkishima mean?" Hinata asked, cocking his head to the side curiously. Kageyama frowned and his blush rose to his ears.

"He didn't mean anything, okay?" He threw his bag over his shoulder and started walking out of the club room. Hinata quickly gathered his things and followed after Kageyama.

"Race ya?"

"Oh, you're on!"

Hinata and Kageyama laid in the middle of Kageyama's living room, staring up at the ceiling. Both of them were exhausted after racing _all the way back to Kageyama's house_. They both mutually agreed to skip out on practicing their quick today.

Hinata glanced at Kageyama. They were getting closer and closer, but Kageyama was still always so angry around him. He didn't know which side of Kageyama he'd get: the silent, brooding, demon-aura Kageyama, or the loud, vicious, sharp-tongued Kageyama.

Today, however, Hinata hadn't seen either of those Kageyamas. In fact, both angry sides of Kageyama were becoming less and less prominent. Kageyama had only scolded him twice during practice today. He wondered if there was something wrong with Kageyama. Was he getting sick?

"Kageyama?" Hinata asked. Kageyama turned his head and pressed his cheek into the ground tiredly, looking over at Hinata with half-lidded eyes. Hinata gulped. Kageyama looked...well, he didn't know how to describe it. His cheeks were flushed and pinker than his pale skin, his hair was messily tousled from the wind outside, and his lips were slightly parted as his breath slowed.

"What?" Kageyama snarled. Hinata hadn't noticed he'd been staring and blushed in embarrassment.

"Are you sick or something?" Hinata blurted under the pressure. Kageyama scoffed.

"'Course not. Why would you think that?"

"You haven't been yelling at me as much," Hinata shrugged as if it were obvious why he would be concerned. Instead of a mocking 'dumbass', Kageyama just turned his head to face the ceiling again. He looked like he was trying to hide the spreading redness in his cheeks.

The two laid there in silence, listening to their heavy breathing mingling together and the old grandfather clock slowly ticking back and forth in the dining room. Hinata sat up after what felt like an hour, and Kageyama sat up soon after. "There's no point in practicing right now," Kageyama sighed. "It'd be half-assed."

"What should we do, then?" Hinata asked. He tilted his head to the side in curiosity, resembling a confused dog for a moment. Kageyama stared at him for a second, then glanced at his hands.

"We could study?"

"Hey genius, we both forgot our bags in the club room," Hinata pointed out.

"Well..." Kageyama mumbled, thinking. His lips slightly parted. His arms wrapped around one leg. His chin resting on the top of his knee. Hinata observed every part of his teammate in a way that was borderline unhealthy. Suddenly, Kageyama smacked his palm into his opposite hand, as if suddenly having a major breakthrough. "Let's play Kinect volleyball to see who's really better!"

Hinata half-expected Kageyama to kick him out. Actually, he fully expected it. What he didn't expect was to be sitting on Kageyama's couch, watching him set up a phony volleyball game on the television. Still, that didn't stop him from taking up the challenge when Kageyama offered it.

"What does the winner get?" Hinata asked.

"Pork buns?" Kageyama suggested after a moment.

"Hmm," he mumbled. "Okay. Deal."

"Ahh!" Hinata yelled, jumping to hit a spike. His head hit the ceiling and he jumped out of the Kinect frame...again. He pouted when he landed. He had hit his head so many times that his vision was starting to go blurry but he simply couldn't lose to Kageyama. Kageyama, on the other hand, was laughing his ass off. He was in the lead by seven points simply because Hinata would get too excited and jump too high.

"This isn't fair!" Hinata whined.

"What isn't fair about it?!" Kageyama scowled.

Hinata was about to answer when the front door opened. Kageyama's mother came in carrying a paper bag, presumably filled with food for dinner. She set the bag and her keys on the counter, then walked over to the boys and planted a kiss on each of their foreheads (Kageyama's mother had started giving Hinata a kiss too around the fifth or sixth time Hinata visited). "Sorry for the intrusion!" Hinata blushed in embarrassment.

"Hinata, how many times do I have to tell you, that isn't necessary!" Kageyama's mother smiled warmly. "Will you be joining us for dinner?"

"He will," Kageyama answered for him. When Hinata gave him a questioning look, he stared down at his feet in embarrassment. "I mean, you would need some sort of energy before that long trip home," he mumbled. Kageyama's mother sighed through a smile and patted Hinata's shoulder.

"It's no trouble, Hinata. You're welcome anytime."

"Thank you," he smiled back at her just as warmly.

"So, what should I make?"

"Pork curry?" Kageyama suggested. Hinata could almost see the perkiness in his ears, the way a dog's ears perk up when offered a treat.

"Tobio, we just had that..." Kageyama's mother looked at Hinata expectantly.

"Anything is fine with me," Hinata said quickly. She smiled and made her way to the kitchen gracefully.

"Pork curry it is, then. You boys can go back to your game; dinner won't be ready for a while yet."

Kageyama ended up challenging Hinata in party mode, which resulted in a dead tie. Hinata huffed and crossed his arms. He had won at bowling, ping pong, and soccer, while Kageyama had taken volleyball, hurdles, and javelin throwing.

"How are we gonna settle this?!" Hinata cried dramatically. "We tied our race earlier, and now this!"

"I think that since I won volleyball, it's only fair that I take the victory," Kageyama replied with a smug smirk. Hinata shook his head.

"That isn't fair!"

"Is too!"

"Boys!" Kageyama's mother cried over them, hiding her smile behind her hand. "Dinner is just about ready. Why don't you two wash up?"


	3. Confession

Hinata sat himself next to Kageyama on the bus after a particularly difficult practice match. The entire team was drained, and the powerhouse duo was no exception. Hinata's head lolled against the back of his seat and Kageyama's cheek was pressed to the window. Hinata and Kageyama shared earbuds and every once in a while they would lazily argue about the song that was playing.

Hinata's arm was draped over the iPod between them, which was nearly underneath Kageyama's thigh. Kageyama didn't seem to notice, however, and he kept staring sleepily out the window.

Kageyama's lazy manner immediately changed when his favorite song came on. Hinata perked up as well and nudged Kageyama. "This is my favorite song," they said simultaneously, both with innocently happy expressions on their faces. Hinata blushed first; there was something about Kageyama's innocent, wispy expression that made him melt. Kageyama smiled, which was rare, and for once it didn't look creepy.

"You have good taste," Kageyama muttered, letting his smile fade away as he returned his gaze to the window.

Hinata stared down at his hands. Now that they had been on the team for a couple months, Hinata was noticing weird things about himself. For one, he was less and less interested in receiving confessions from the girls around campus. He didn't pay as much attention to them like his mother always claimed he did in grade school. He half-wondered if he was sick, and he even went so far as to check his temperature, but physically he was in top shape.

Hinata thought about asking Kageyama about it, but Kageyama got embarrassed by even the simplest things, such as touching hands or sitting close together (with the exception of sharing ear buds, because Kageyama always seemed to wear his out). Hinata could barely talk about his home life without saying something that would embarrass his teammate. Kageyama would always say their relationship was strictly through school and that they shouldn't make it something more.

Which, secretly, that always confused Hinata. Especially since Hinata spent so much time at Kageyama's house.

Kageyama glanced over at his teammate. Usually Hinata was drooling on his shoulder by now. He noticed the boy was deep in thought and gave him a soft shake. "Oi, Hinata, what's going on in that mind of yours?"

Hinata looked back at Kageyama. He looked genuinely concerned; his damp hair swept away from his face, his eyes wide and imploring, his lips slightly pursed. "I'm alright," Hinata said hazily after a few seconds. "Just thinking."

"About?" Kageyama pushed the topic. The rest of their teammates were asleep since the bus trip would be another hour, so the two tried to keep their voices down.

"Just our relationship," Hinata shrugged. Kageyama blushed brightly and Hinata wondered what he'd said to set him off this time.

"We don't have a relationship," Kageyama said coldly. "We're just teammates."

"But we hang out like friends do," Hinata challenged.

"We aren't friends," Kageyama grumbled. "We're rivals."

That night, Hinata stared at his ceiling trying to will sleep to come to him, but that wasn't working. His conversation with Kageyama kept replaying in his mind. Sure, he saw Kageyama as a rival when they played against each other in practice scrimmages, but did Kageyama really still see them as rivals? Enemies, even?

His thoughts were interrupted by his phone vibrating underneath his pillow.

It was Kageyama.

Hinata answered the phone, voice hushed since it was so late. "Hello?"

"D-dumbass, you weren't supposed to answer!" Kageyama's voice was just as hushed as Hinata's, but more frantic.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked. He rarely heard Kageyama frantic unless he was stressing about school work or trying to push himself to beat Hinata in a race.

"N-nothing!...dumbass!" he added for good measure.

"Then why do you sound so nervous?"

"You scared me, is all," Kageyama sighed. "I didn't expect you to be awake, too."

"Well I am," Hinata mumbled, twirling his hair around his finger absently. "So what's up?"

"I'm suh...sor...sorry," Kageyama muttered. Hinata stifled a laugh. "Don't laugh at me!"

"S-sorry, you're just so funny when you're trying to apologize," Hinata giggled. "But what are you apologizing for?"

"I, uh. I don't know, really."

"That's a lie," Hinata stated bluntly.

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Shouyou, go to bed!" Hinata heard Natsu call from the next room over. He sighed and brought his voice to a whisper while Kageyama took his turn to laugh.

"Busted, Hinata," he muttered.

"Shut up," Hinata blushed in embarrassment.

"I should probably get to bed soon," Kageyama grumbled.

"Yeah, me too," Hinata whispered sheepishly. "Goodnight, Kageyama."

"Goodnight, Hinata."

"No fair, you tripped me!"

"You fell on your own, dumbass! What's that make the score, thirty to twenty-nine?"

"I'll get you back for this!"

Hinata and Kageyama walked side by side, bickering as usual, when Hinata spotted a girl peeking around the corner. She looked a little nervous. She was cute, and Hinata recognized her from his class, but she didn't seem like the nervous type. When they turned down the hall on their way to the courtyard for lunch, the girl stopped Kageyama in his tracks.

"I, uh," the girl was blushing brightly. She was acting as if Hinata wasn't even there, which made his blood boil.

Surely it wasn't the fact that this girl had just made a confession to Kageyama (which he didn't hear much of, since he was angrily monologuing about the girl in his head). Kageyama stood there, dumbfounded. Hinata frowned at this. He knew Kageyama was bad with physical confrontation, but this boy needed genuine _saving_.

"Um," Hinata spoke up. He finally got the girl's attention. "Kageyama has a girlfriend."

"Do you?" the girl asked Kageyama hopelessly. Kageyama gave Hinata a small smile of thanks and nodded his head.

"It's pretty serious," he mumbled, looking down at his feet.

"Oh, well I feel silly," the girl stared at her shoes. "I'm so sorry."

Both of them watched the girl run off towards presumably a group of her friends. Kageyama clapped a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Thank you," he mumbled. His voice was breathy and Hinata began to wonder if Kageyama had been holding his breath.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Hinata asked, slightly bitter. "I mean, she's pretty. She's smart. She looks nice," Hinata's voice got increasingly angrier. "Why are you such a dumbass?"

"Hinata, I-"

"I'm gonna go see if Suga san will help me practice," Hinata muttered, storming off in a fit of rage. Kageyama watched him go, confused and a little angry as well.

"Suga san," Hinata grasped his knees, breathing heavily. He had sprinted all the way across the courtyard to find Suga. When he finally did, he didn't know what to say.

"Did I just see Kageyama get confessed to?" Suga asked curiously, which made Hinata madder.

"Does everyone freaking know?!"

"Whoa, Hinata, what's wrong?" Suga patted the spot next to him under the tree he was sitting under. Hinata graciously took a seat.

"What do you do if your closest friend makes you feel like-GWAH?" Hinata asked desperately.

"Explain," Suga replied, completely confused on what 'gwah' meant.

"Like, Kageyama's so cool and awkward but in a good way and-" Hinata stopped in his tracks. "Am I _gay_?"

"Would it be a problem if you were?" Suga responded casually.

"Kageyama can't even talk to me about what goes on at my house! What if he found out?"

"Hinata," Suga sighed. "Hinata," he repeated, "have you ever thought like this before?"

"I mean, not really, but..."

"But what?"

"Can we practice together later? Just the two of us?"

Suga nodded solemnly and smiled warmly. "Of course, Hinata."

"Great!" Hinata pushed himself to his feet. He looked slightly pale and nervous, but still he ran across the courtyard in the direction of his classroom.


	4. Senpais

Suga half-expected Hinata to blow him off. Yet, after volleyball practice, he saw a ball of orange hair go sprinting across the courtyard, then again, then once more before it finally began traveling towards him. Hinata bent in front of him, heaving and gripping his knees. His face was nearly dripping with sweat.

"Let's not do this here," Suga mumbled. "I'll give you a minute to catch your breath, then we'll head out, alright?"

Hinata just nodded. His chest rose and fell quickly and he felt extremely nauseous. He really didn't want to talk about his feelings, but things had gotten _that bad_. Sometimes Hinata had dreams about Kageyama-ones that left him waking up with something he'd rather not talk about with his senpai.

Once Hinata had caught his breath, the two began walking towards the student parking lot. "Whoa, Suga, you drive?!" Hinata asked excitedly.

Suga smiled warmly at Hinata. "Nope, but Daichi does!"

"E-eh?!"

Suga just giggled behind his hand and continued to lead the way to Daichi's car. When they finally got there, they saw Daichi sitting on the hood, twirling his keys around his finger. "Hello, Hinata," Daichi said in a calm voice. "Go ahead and hop in the back."

"A-are you kidnapping me?!" Hinata squealed. He was obviously nervous. The captains just laughed, never fully answering Hinata's question, and got in the car.

Hinata got in after a few seconds of debate (after all they were his _senpais_ , what would they do to him _really_ ).

Hinata learned something valuable that day: Daichi drove like a freaking _maniac_.

Hinata had closed his eyes during the ride and was gripping every square inch of seat he could. Meanwhile, the captains talked about what drills they should do in morning practice the next day as if Daichi _hadn't_ almost hit four trees and rear-ended at least a dozen people.

When the car finally stopped, Hinata was reluctant to open his eyes. Suga reached in the back seat and shook the petrified boy. "Oi, Hinata, I know he's not that good of a driver but-"

"Hey!" Daichi huffed, taking offense.

"C'mon, you know you're bad," Suga rolled his eyes. He coaxed Hinata out of the car after a few minutes of arguing and led him inside to Daichi's apartment.

"I hope you don't mind," Suga called over his shoulder as he led the way, "but I told Daichi a bit about the situation."

"I just want to help," Daichi clarified from behind him. That's when Hinata realized that even if he attempted to run for it, he would be caught. He sighed in defeat and hung his head.

Daichi tossed Suga the key as they went up the stairs to his apartment. "Hinata, do you trust us?" Suga asked sweetly.

"Of course!" Hinata said quickly. "It's just..."

"Complicated," Daichi offered. Hinata nodded.

Suga stopped at the proper room and slid the key in. He pushed the door open and took off his shoes, then stepped aside to let the others in. Hinata took off his shoes as well.

"Nobody is here," Daichi assured as he slid his shoes off and walked over to the living room. Suga joined him and sat down next to Daichi on a loveseat. Hinata sat in a chair across the room.

"So, Hinata," Suga began, "how's it going?"

Hinata, taken aback by such a casual question, began to fidget. "I-I dunno, it was..."

"It isn't a trick question," Daichi assured. "Suga just wants to make sure you're doing okay. Have you been sleeping well?"

Hinata thought about all the dreams he had about Kageyama, especially in the past couple weeks. "Y-yes?"

"How about your appetite?" Suga asked. The two wore matching worried expressions.

"Look, I'm really fine...thank you for everything, but..." Hinata began to rise to his feet.

"It's Kageyama, isn't it?"

Suga and Hinata both wore matching confused expressions as they looked at Daichi.

Hinata was the first to recover. "You told him?"

"No, I just told him you were questioning your sexuality!"

"It would take an idiot to not figure it out," Daichi sighed. "I'm sorry if I took you by surprise. I'm your captain, I notice things," he chuckled.

"It's just so hard," Hinata half-whined. "I want to not like my rival-or, whatever he is to me."

"You two are pretty close," Suga observed. "You spend a lot of time at his house, right?"

"W-well, yeah..."

"Doesn't that make you two friends?"

Hinata thought back to his conversation with Kageyama on the bus. "He told me we're not friends, we're rivals," he mumbled, finally sinking back into the chair. He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on his knees.

"Oh," Daichi frowned slightly. "You two are our freaky duo though," he muttered. "I figured you'd be pretty close if you'd be able to pull that off."

"We are, don't get me wrong," Hinata said half-heartedly. "We race all the time, and we spend a lot of time outside of school practicing volleyball. Kageyama's mom bought a net at a yard sale a month or so ago for us to practice with."

"How does Kageyama act around you?" Suga asked curiously.

"Hm?" Hinata glanced up. "Well, he gets really blushy whenever someone says something about us being friends." He recalled the time in the club room when Tsukki had mentioned they were spending a lot of time together.

"How peculiar," Daichi mumbled, nudging Suga discreetly. Suga gave a soft nod in return.

"How about you stay for dinner, Hinata?"

Hinata bent over a bowl of soup while Suga talked to his mother on the phone. Hinata's mother had called Kageyama's mother to chat and the topic of Hinata's absence came up, so naturally his mother became worried. Suga graciously offered to answer the phone and take Hinata's mother's heat.

"...oh, no, he's completely fine! Yeah, he just asked us to help him study. He's got a big test tomorrow!...no need, we can drop him off!...yes...yeah...okay, goodbye!" Suga hung up the phone and immediately lost his sweet tone. "Your mother asked if I was a thug holding you hostage," he said bluntly.

Hinata snorted. "Sounds like her."

"She wants you home soon," Suga explained. He was in the process of handing Hinata his cell phone when it rang.

Hinata took the phone and looked at the caller ID. "It's Kageyama!" he whisper-shouted.

"Answer it!" Suga encouraged.

When Hinata answered, he could barely muster a "hello" before he heard Kageyama yelling. "Dumbass, I was so worried! You can at least text me when you won't be coming over!"

"I'm sorry!" Hinata cried.

"And what was with you earlier? Why were you so mad?"

"Listen, Kageyama, Daichi is dropping me off at home in a bit, can we talk when-"

"Y-you're with Daichi?" Kageyama's tone changed immediately.

"Yeah...why?"

"...he scares me," Kageyama whispered. Hinata burst out laughing and received proper scolding from Kageyama as punishment.

"I'm so telling him you said that!"

"No please! Don't! He'll use it against me!"

"Oh Daichiii~" Hinata sang. Daichi peeked his head out of the kitchen, his face and clothes dirty from his attempt at cooking dinner.

"Hinata, tell him you've gotta go, we have to get you home," Daichi said, suddenly acting like a father figure. Hinata huffed and went to grab his bag.

"I'll talk to you in a bit, Kageyama. Okay?"

"Sure."

"I'll call you?"

"Fine."

"Okie dokie!" Hinata hung up the phone and gathered his things, waiting by the door for his senpais.

When Hinata got home, he threw an apology over his shoulder for neglecting to tell his mother about his plans to go to Daichi's. She waved it off, per usual, and he was able to get into his room and dial Kageyama's number in record time.

"Hey, I'm just about to get in the bath," Kageyama answered right away.

"Oh, should I call back?"

Hinata didn't hear an answer for a few moments and he began to wonder if Kageyama had dropped his phone in the bath. Kageyama came back on after some rustling. "Sorry, I was taking off my clothes."

Hinata blushed slightly at the thought. Kageyama stripping down...

What didn't help was Hinata's familiarity with Kageyama changing. He could see Kageyama, taking off sweaty white practice shirts, but this time in a bathroom and with more skin. "I-I-I should c-call back," Hinata tripped over his words.

"What's wrong? Are you nervous about that practice match this weekend?"

"N-no! I'll call you later, Kageyama!" Hinata squealed, then hung up. He climbed under his bed sheets and wriggled uncomfortably.

"I'm not gay I'm not gay I'm not gay I _swear_ ," Hinata whispered to himself. He buried his head under his pillow and tried to will the image of Kageyama bathing out of his head.

Of the little sleep he got that night, Kageyama was the star of his dreams.


	5. Sleepover

Suga and Daichi didn't talk to Hinata much about the discussion the three of them had a couple weeks prior. They all mutually decided it was best to not bring it up at school, and Hinata was in no hurry to get into a car with Daichi again.

Kageyama cornered Hinata in the locker room one day about a month after their meeting. "Hinata," he said. Hinata couldn't tell if he was worried or annoyed.

"Y-yeah?" Hinata gulped. He'd been avoiding Kageyama ever since that night. Most often Hinata found himself hiding out with Suga at lunch.

"What's up with you?" Okay, Hinata could tell he was concerned now. The furrowed brow and scowl Kageyama wore was softened from worry. "You haven't come over in weeks and our quick is getting worse because of it."

"I'm f-fine, just having family issues!"

"What's going on?"

Hinata was taken aback. He tried not to show it, but it was the first time Kageyama had asked more about Hinata's family life. "U-um..."

"Let's not talk about it here," Kageyama muttered. "Come over tonight? We can talk while we walk, then we can practice our quick when we get to my place."

"A-ah, okay."

Kageyama stayed silent for most of the walk. Hinata explained what was 'bothering' him about his family (though if he was being truthful, the situation he described was one he'd been living with his entire life). Kageyama would nod and make noises of acknowledgement when the boy stopped talking.

"My dad is just gone all the time," Hinata said as they turned down Kageyama's street. "It's stressing my mom out because she doesn't have anyone to watch Natsu."

"Natsu?" Kageyama questioned.

"My little sister."

"You didn't tell me you had a little sister..."

"Well, you never asked."

Kageyama pulled his house key out of his pocket as they walked up his driveway. Hinata leaned his bike against the side of the house while Kageyama unlocked the door. They both went inside and Kageyama took off his shoes and set his stuff aside. Hinata did the same.

Kageyama went into the kitchen and began digging through the cabinets. His eyes lit up and he pulled a box of cereal out of the cupboard. "I was really hoping my mom would buy this," he mumbled in embarrassment, cheeks turning pink when he realized Hinata was staring.

Hinata only laughed. "That's my favorite kind."

"Mine too," Kageyama sighed as he pulled two bowls out of the cupboard. "Now I have to share."

"Y-you don't have to!" Hinata said quickly, but Kageyama ignored him and went to get the milk out of the refrigerator.

"Seriously, you've been giddier than usual," Kageyama sighed, "even before you started ignoring me."

Hinata watched Kageyama pour two bowls of cereal. He reached for the bowl across the counter and his hand brushed Kageyama's. Kageyama lit up red and pulled back quickly. "S-sorry," he mumbled.

"For what?" Hinata asked, propping his arm on the counter. Kageyama just shook his head and grabbed two spoons from a drawer. He slid one across the countertop to Hinata, then leaned against the counter and ate his cereal in silence.

Hinata didn't do anything to break the silence. He wondered why Kageyama was so concerned with his home life all of the sudden. He wondered why Kageyama had blushed so hard when their hands had accidentally touched. Still, he had no problem eating, and he scarfed down the entire bowl of cereal quickly.

"Quick time?" Hinata asked when Kageyama finished his bowl.

"Let's go," Kageyama agreed. The two rinsed their bowls and threw on their outdoor shoes. Kageyama reached into his bedroom to grab his volleyball and Hinata tightened the net outside.

The two practiced their quick until the sun went down, and it was as if they had never taken a break.

Hinata stopped Kageyama before they went inside. "Oi, Kageyama," he said, tapping his partner's shoulder. "One more."

"The sun's going down," Kageyama argued. "We can barely see the ball."

"I want to try something," Hinata mumbled. Kageyama, skeptical, shrugged.

"Alright. Fine."

Kageyama tossed Hinata one more, and Hinata hit the ball while it was slightly higher than usual. The ball rolled off his fingertips and landed on the other side of the yard, having backspun in the air. Kageyama watched his partner land with a soft thud, jaw slightly dropped.

"The hell was that?" he asked in slight awe, though he was trying not to make it obvious.

"I-it needs work," Hinata mumbled. "But my mom used to play on a beach volleyball league and she told me it was pretty popular for her and her teammate because it's hard to make quick moves in sand! I figured it would be-"

"We'll work on it," Kageyama interrupted, "but this will be fantastic!"

Hinata beamed and Kageyama rubbed his head. It took a few seconds for Kageyama to realize what he was doing, but when he did, he blushed and backed away. "I uh, I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"It's alright," Hinata beamed over at him, also blushing. "I'm just glad you like it!"

"Don't show anyone yet," he said quickly. "I want this to be perfect before we show anyone."

"Oh, does that mean I shouldn't have been watching?" Kageyama's mother peeked over the book she was reading. She was sitting on the porch's porch swing, smiling.

"M-mom!" Kageyama blushed even darker and tensed up. "How long have you been sitting there?"

"Long enough to see that really cool spike," she smiled warmly. "I'm so proud of you two."

"Th-thank you!" Hinata bowed.

"Dinner will be ready in a while," she said as she stood up. She tucked her book under her arm and smiled at the two. "Please come in soon so you can wash up."

Hinata was helping Kageyama's mother clean up in the kitchen when the phone rang. Kageyama picked it up. "Kageyama residence," he said. "Hm? Yeah, he's helping clean up in the kitchen."

Hinata shot a look at Kageyama and Kageyama's mother chuckled. "That must be your mother," she said. "Go ahead, I'll finish in here."

"Thank you!" Hinata said and took the phone from Kageyama. "Mom?...well, I don't know. Why? What's wrong?...huh?!" Hinata pulled the phone away from his ear, frantically searching around the small house. He threw his bag over his shoulder. "I'm coming home!...what do you mean I can't?!" He groaned and handed the phone to Kageyama.

"Mrs. Hinata?" Kageyama asked.

"Oh, Kageyama," Hinata's mother sighed. "I was just telling Shouyou he needs to spend the night at his aunt's tonight. Would you mind telling him that?"

"Um, okay," Kageyama pulled the phone away from his ear. "Why do you have to spend the night at your aunt's?"

Hinata, who had settled on a chair, crossed his arms and huffed. "My dad is home, and my mom doesn't want me around while he's..." he sighed.

"While he's what?" Kageyama's mother asked gently.

"Just never mind," he shook his head. "I'll go to my aunt's. Thank you for dinner."

"It's not a problem, Shouyou," Kageyama's mother smiled warmly. Kageyama handed the phone to Hinata.

"I'll see you in the morning?...alright. Bye," he hung up and sank back into the chair with a soft sigh. "I'm really sorry to bother you with this," he mumbled.

"It's okay," Kageyama said before his mother could. "How far away is your aunt?"

"Next town over," he groaned.

"What?" Kageyama's mother exclaimed in surprise. "You shouldn't be going out this late anyways! Why don't you just spend the night here?"

"I-I don't know that that's such a good idea," Hinata mumbled sheepishly, blushing. "Plus I don't want to intrude."

"It isn't intrusion at all," she assured. "Tobi has some clothes from junior high that'll fit you. You can change into those and I can wash your clothes for you," she smiled warmly. "It really isn't any trouble."

"O-okay," Hinata smiled shyly. Kageyama wasn't saying a word; instead, he was staring off into space, wearing a blush that matched Hinata's. Hinata had never been more curious as to what his partner was thinking about.


	6. Sleepover (pt 2)

"Earth to Kageyama," Hinata waved his hand in front of Kageyama's face. Kageyama glared at his partner; admittedly, though, he had been pretty deep in his thoughts. He kept imagining sharing a bed with Hinata, curling his body around his teammate's since he was so small...

"Oi!"

"Sorry," Kageyama mumbled, his cheeks redder than the hoodie he was wearing. He stared at the television. His Mii was standing patiently, waiting to bowl, and the remote was in his hand, but he didn't quite remember how he and Hinata got to this point. Still, he rose from his spot on the couch, swinging the remote half-assedly and getting _another_ split. He groaned as his partner snickered at him, then shot another evil glare over his shoulder. He was always more competitive when they played sports against each other.

"Ya know, your glare could probably kill a child," Hinata mumbled somewhat under his breath. Kageyama still heard him and there was practically fire in the glare he sent his partner next. It sent shivers down Hinata's spine.

After Kageyama completely missed both pins of the split, Hinata stood up and began making severe adjustments on where he was throwing his digital bowling ball. Finally, he swung the remote, and to neither of their surprise, he threw another strike. Several annoying adjustments later and Hinata had shot a perfect game.

A pump of his fist in the air in victory made Kageyama even madder. They decided to start keeping a tally of the video games they played and who won what. Using an old white board that Kageyama stashed behind his television, they were able to determine that even in digital competitions, they were nearly evenly matched (though this victory put Hinata ahead by one).

"Hey, Kageyama," Hinata mumbled, "let's watch a movie now."

"I have to beat you back at something!" Kageyama denied.

Hinata puffed out his lip in a pout. "Just let me be ahead. I'm tired of Wii Sports."

"Wii Sports Resort?"

"Kageyama!"

"Fine," Kageyama scoffed. He wondered why he could so easily bend to his partner's will. The suggestion of another game was half-assed and he truly knew it. There was no way he would deny the boy a movie, because it meant dark rooms and perhaps cuddling and _what if we watched a scary movie? Hinata would practically be in my-_

Kageyama froze. Is this why Hinata had distanced himself? Because he'd caught on to Kageyama's feelings? Panic overtook him, and his partner noticed, because there was a small calloused hand on his shoulder just seconds after his mind had taken off down that dangerous line of thinking.

"Kageyama."

The boy in question's cheeks lit up. He looked away from his partner. "W-what?"

"You're so tense," Hinata whined. "I can give you a massage, if you need. It might help if you've got sore muscles or something."

Kageyama didn't have the energy to deny the boy. Hinata beamed brightly; though he would never tell his partner, Hinata simply wanted a reason to touch those broad shoulders of his.

 _What am I thinking?!_ Hinata thought to himself. _I can't go getting all weird right now! I'm spending the night here!_

"I'll go make some popcorn, you pick out a movie," Kageyama said, completely unaware of the dilemma his partner was having.

As soon as Kageyama stepped into the kitchen, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The need he felt to be close to Hinata was stronger than ever. He had _really_ hoped that by now his crush on his partner would be gone, especially since he'd had that month where Hinata avoided him to sort things through, and he still wasn't even sure why Hinata was avoiding him.

"Kags!" Hinata called into the kitchen. The nickname made his heart skip a beat. "I picked one, did you get the popcorn started yet?"

"N-not yet!" Kageyama tried extremely hard not to stutter over his words, but to no avail. He tried to calm his pounding heart while the popcorn cooked. Meanwhile, he heard Hinata put in a movie and the beginning credits start rolling. Usually Kageyama would watch movies with his mother on weekends, so he could almost instantly recognize which movie was in, but not this time.

The microwave beeped and Kageyama pulled the popcorn out. He grabbed two bowls from the cupboard and poured an even amount in each, then took his time returning to the living room. His heart was still racing, albeit not as fast as before. The lights were already off and Hinata was patiently waiting on the couch, knees spread slightly so Kageyama could sit between his legs.

Kageyama shuffled across the room and set the bowl for Hinata next to him on the couch. He cradled his own bowl and watched the previews start while Hinata's hands gingerly rested on his shoulders. "Erm, Kageyama," Hinata mumbled.

"Yeah?" Kageyama asked. He could almost hear the blush in his partner's voice.

"Can you take your shirt off?"

"It's cold in here though," Kageyama muttered, realizing why he had noticed a blush in his partner's voice. Sure, he knew that a massage was better when it was skin on skin, but that didn't mean he wasn't insecure.

"Kags," Hinata used the nickname again. "Do you wanna experience the magic or not?"

The bluntness of Hinata's statement would have made Kageyama laugh if not for his slight mental freak out because Hinata called him Kags again. He slipped his shirt off wordlessly and tossed it aside. Hinata clapped his hands together softly. "Lotion?" he asked innocently, and Kageyama pointed to the bathroom down the hall.

Hinata hopped up, ran into the bathroom, and returned moments later with said lotion. He sat himself back down on the couch just as the beginning credits ended and the title screen popped up for the movie Hinata had chosen.

"Good God," Kageyama sighed.

"What? It's a good movie! And it's about teamwork!" Hinata sneered.

On the screen, the _Pitch Perfect_ title song was playing rather loudly despite how late it was at night. Hinata picked the movie to get on Kageyama's nerves, mainly because he'd been forced to watch it so much with his mother and Natsu. He had grown to rather like the movie because he didn't have any other choice.

Kageyama hit play and Hinata got some lotion in his hands and got to work.

During the movie, a couple of lewd noises erupted from Kageyama's lips while Hinata rubbed his back. He prayed his partner didn't hear; each time he would throw a hand over his mouth and blush bright red. Hinata never commented on it (but the sneaky bastard always remembered which spots elicted which noises).

"How does that feel?" Hinata whispered in Kageyama's ear after he was done. Kageyama, being the pervert he is, took it the exact wrong way. Hinata realized what he'd said and blushed as well, shaking his hands and head at the confusion. "I-I mean, was it good? How's your back feeling?!"

"I-it feels fine!" Kageyama replied, a little louder than intended due to his nervousness.

"I'm glad, then!" Hinata grinned. He moved over and patted the couch so Kageyama could sit next to him. Kageyama slumped onto the couch and leaned into it. Hinata was right; his fingers _did_ work magic. He felt amazing. Of course, he would never admit that to Hinata.

After the first Pitch Perfect, Hinata dug around for the sequel. Having succeeded in finding it, he put that one in as well. However, the two were already beginning to feel the fatigue of their video game endeavors halfway through the first film and fell asleep, Hinata leaning on Kageyama, not even twenty minutes in.

Kageyama woke up first. He was somewhat trained to wake up to the smell of his mother cooking breakfast. He smelled pancakes and syrup and could hear his mother chopping fruits. He sat up, rubbing his eye groggily, and his mother chuckled and shook her head. "Good morning, Tobi. Sleep well?"

It was then that Kageyama noticed the slightly heavy weight on him-and it wasn't sleep. He looked down at his legs where Hinata's head rested on his calves. He looked like such an angel when he slept-his hair perfectly falling around his face, his lips slightly parted, what he would do to kiss that sleeping beauty awake...

"Hm?" Kageyama remembered he hadn't replied to his mother. She just laughed and flipped pancakes onto a plate.

"I've got an early business meeting today, but I'll be home around four," she said, waltzing over to Kageyama and pressing a kiss to his forehead. She ruffled Hinata's hair, making him stir but not fully wake up. "Hinata can stay as long as he likes." Even though the boy was still asleep, she dropped her voice to a whisper. "Tobi, his home life doesn't sound too good right now, can you look out for him please? I'm going to talk to his mother about him spending the night more often."

It was a lot for Kageyama to take in at nine in the morning on a weekend. Still, he assumed he caught all the important stuff. He nodded groggily and his mother smiled warmly in response. "I'll see you tonight." With that, his mother was out the door, and the two had the house to themselves.

Kageyama gently shook his partner. "Oi," he murmured gently. Hinata mumbled something, stirring in his sleep. Kageyama shook him a little harder. "Hinata."

"Five more minutes," Hinata mumbled.

Kageyama sighed.

"Hina, I'm totally going to deflate your favorite volleyball if you don't get up."

"I'M UP!" Hinata cried, sitting straight up. Kageyama smirked in victory.

"Good. My mom made us breakfast," he gestured to the two full plates of food. Hinata leapt over the back of the couch to get to said food. "She also said you're welcome to stay as long as you like," he added a little softer.

"Listen, Kags," Hinata said as he began shoveling food into his mouth, "about my da. He' a goo guy. 'Lease ca we jus for-" he swallowed- "can we just forget about last night?"

"Actually, my mom said-"

"Kageyama," Hinata said in a slightly warning tone, "it's okay."

Kageyama didn't bring it up again, and after they'd eaten and cleaned up they were back to practicing their freak quick.


	7. Injury

It was a somewhat normal afternoon for Kageyama. Sundays were the volleyball team's off days and Kageyama was sprawled out on the couch, staring at the ceiling boredly. Since they had Sundays off, it was unusual for Hinata to show up at Kageyama's door. Unusual, but not unheard of.

Kageyama's boredom was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door. He groaned, standing and stretching ever so slowly. The person on the other side of the door knocked again, even more frantic than before. He mumbled an "I'm coming" and opened the door. The frantic knock had a frantic Hinata to match, and Kageyama could barely keep track of the boy as he dashed into the home.

When Kageyama finally focused his eyes on his partner, he noticed a gash on his cheek with dried blood and a bruise already forming around it. His eyes widened and he froze. Silent tears fell down Hinata's cheeks. "Oh god, Hina," Kageyama whispered. His voice sounded far away to both of them. Neither of them moved, both rooted to their spots. Kageyama's eyes followed the cut to the bruise to the tears falling down Hinata's face to the snot running down his face as well. Around the third time he followed this path of sight, he realized he should do something.

"H-here," Kageyama said, jolting in an abnormal way to reach out for Hinata. Hinata flinched and took a step back, and Kageyama stopped. "S-s-sit down, Hinata, I'm going to go get a rag and some tissues, okay?"

Hinata nodded pitifully and slumped himself on Kageyama's couch.

Kageyama ran to the bathroom, fumbling through each and every item in the cabinet before he found a rag and some butterfly bandages. He slipped and fell (twice) before managing to escape the horrid bathroom. He found Hinata right where he left him. There was a dazed look on his partner's face that certainly didn't suit him. He was gentler this time when approaching him, unsure of what exactly had happened but understanding enough to know when Hinata wasn't in a position to talk.

Kageyama sat across the couch from Hinata. The shift in the cushion made Hinata look up. His tears had somewhat stopped but the bruising had gotten worse, even in the short time that it took Kageyama to grab what he needed. Kageyama felt the strong urge to wipe his semi-dried tears and cup is cheeks and just simply _hold_ him.

"S-sorry," Hinata whispered, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

"Don't be," Kageyama murmured gently. He leaned forward slowly, watching for any negative reaction from Hinata while he did so. The boy just stared at him blankly. He was inches away from his face. _Don't fuck this up_ , Kageyama thought to himself. _The poor guy looks like he just got mugged_.

Kageyama gently cupped Hinata's cheek. Hinata tilted his head to show Kageyama the wound on his cheek instinctively. Kageyama frowned and gently brought the wet rag to his partner's face. He tried to be as careful as possible while he cleaned the wound, but Hinata would still wince every now and then. He felt awful for inflicting even more pain on his teammate.

Suddenly a sickening idea of where the wound came from entered Kageyama's head. He felt his throat threaten to close up at the mere thought of it. He recalled his mother saying Hinata was having family problems, Hinata telling Kageyama it was all okay and that he shouldn't worry, his mother and his talk later that day about what Hinata could possibly be feeling...

Kageyama tried to push the thoughts out of his head. He had to focus on Hinata. The boy was barely registering anything Kageyama said, and it was only then that Kageyama realized he was babbling nonsense while he cleaned and bandaged the wound. He blushed in embarrassment and let his hand linger on Hinata's face just a bit longer.

"Kags?" Hinata whispered softly. He hadn't spoken all while Kageyama was working except to grunt in pain, so it took Kageyama slightly by surprise. What surprised him more was the ever increasing use of the nickname.

"Yes, Hinata?" Kageyama replied, moving his hand away from Hinata's cheek in favor for mindlessly playing with the boy's hair. Hinata stared at Kageyama's chest, subconsciously leaning into his partner's touch.

"You won't...tell anyone about this...will you?" It was then that Hinata made eye contact with Kageyama, _full_ eye contact unlike earlier when he had still been dazed.

"Of course not," Kageyama agreed hastily. His mind told him to ask questions, to figure out what happened, to mentally note whose ass he would have to kick, when the thought he'd had earlier reentered his mind. He shivered in displeasure and coldness-before Hinata had shown up, he'd been covered with a blanket in the slightly chilly house and now that he wasn't he was beginning to feel the cold again.

Hinata shivered too, and Kageyama rose to his feet. Hinata watched him with wide eyes. Kageyama sensed a sort of panic and ruffled his hair reassuringly. "I'm going to grab some blankets and make some hot chocolate. Do you want something to ice your face?"

Hinata nodded weakly. "Please," he whispered.

Kageyama disappeared into the kitchen. His lungs felt like they'd collapse. Hinata was so _drained_ , so _empty_ , so _not Hinata_. Kageyama hated it. He hated whoever did this to Hinata. He hated himself for not being able to help Hinata sooner. Most of all, he hated not knowing what exactly happened to his partner.

He put two mugs in the microwave filled with milk.

Kageyama had been touching Hinata a lot. He was sure he hadn't touched Hinata that much _ever._ He wondered if Hinata was just too dazed to say anything about it.

Oh god, what was he doing? Hinata was just _attacked_ and here Kageyama was taking the opportunity to get all touchy-feely. He remembered the face Hinata made when he'd gone to touch him the first time. He was afraid. Hinata was afraid, and Kageyama was making it worse.

 _But, he leaned into your hand a minute ago,_ the hopeful side of Kageyama's mind piped up. _He seemed to enjoy it._

Did that mean it was okay?

The microwave beeped. Kageyama didn't hear it.

What was he doing in the kitchen?

"Kageyama?"

Kageyama launched himself into the living room. Hinata was holding his knees and shivering. "Blankets?" he asked softly.

"Right!" Kageyama replied. He rushed to grab some.

That's when he remembered the hot cocoa.

Kageyama dropped off a couple of blankets to Hinata that his mother had stolen for her room the previous night. They smelled like sleep and shampoo. Hinata buried himself in the scent.

Kageyama mixed the hot cocoa, which was not so hot anymore. He brought the two mugs to the living room, ready to give Hinata his mug, only to find his partner sprawled out on the couch, asleep. He wondered how exhausted his partner must have been to have fallen asleep so quickly. He quietly settled himself on the floor, sipping his warm cocoa.

When Hinata woke up, it was to the sound of dishes being washed and put away. He forgot where he was for a moment, until he sat up and saw Kageyama doing the dishes. He watched his partner for a bit; there was something about the way he moved ever so gracefully around the kitchen that reminded him of the way Kageyama was on the court.

It suddenly occurred to Hinata that he wasn't at his house. He sat up a little straighter. That was when Kageyama noticed him. "Oi," he called over his shoulder, putting the last of the dishes away then rushing to Hinata's side. "How are you?"

"I'm..." Hinata frowned. "Why do you look so worried?"

"You've been out for a while," Kageyama mumbled sheepishly, a tint of pink staining his cheeks. He rubbed his neck and looked away.

"I'm alright," Hinata smiled softly.

"That's uh, that's good," Kageyama nodded. He eyed the wound on Hinata's cheek with anger, sadness, and curiosity.

Hinata noticed him staring. "Is your mom home?" he asked in a really hushed tone.

"She just called and told me she'd be home tomorrow morning, there was some sort of weather advisory going on earlier," Kageyama replied. "Why? Is everything okay?"

"...hah. No," Hinata admitted with a sigh. He looked down to his hands in his lap. Kageyama didn't like the sound of that. He sat across from Hinata on the couch.

"What happened?" he implored gently. Hinata looked up at him through shaggy, sleep strewn hair. Kageyama fought the urge to brush it out of his face.

"You have to swear you won't tell anyone," Hinata began.

"I swear," Kageyama whispered.

Hinata sighed again. "My dad...h-he got a little...buzzed," he mumbled, looking anywhere but at Kageyama. "He and my mom started fighting about how she doesn't do enough and he's bringing in all the money. He...he went after her," Hinata gasped. His eyes were filled with tears. "But...I stepped between them right as my dad threw something. I think it was a porcelein figurine or something. It got me in the face. He started screaming at me so my mom scooped up Natsu and just...left," he whispered, tears sliding down his cheeks. "I ran upstairs, locked my door, and hopped out the window," he laughed a broken laugh that sent shivers down Kageyama's spine. "Then I hopped on my bike and came here using every back road I knew."

Kageyama's jaw had dropped somewhere in the midst of that story. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to relate. He didn't know how to even comfort his partner. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

Hinata wiped his tears hastily. "Don't be," he smiled. "Thank you for inviting me in without questions. He'll be okay by tomorrow, so I can go ho-"

"No," Kageyama said firmly. "You can stay here. At least for a little bit. I really don't think you should go back so soon."

"Okay," Hinata mumbled, unwilling to argue.

Kageyama opened his arms in a slightly awkward manner. He wanted to show some sort of empathy or comfort for the boy and this seemed like the best way to. Disregarding the stiffness of his partner, Hinata lunged into his arms, wrapping his arms around his partner's neck. He buried his face in the crook of Kageyama's neck, his breath staggering as he tried to avoid crying again. Kageyama rubbed circles on Hinata's back, and they sat like that for a while.

"H-hey Kags?" Hinata asked softly.

"Hm?" Kageyama replied, his eyes closing slowly.

"Could I get something to eat?"

"Mm, what do you want? I can cook macaroni and cheese," Kageyama slowly pulled away from the hug to look at Hinata while he spoke.

"Oh, whatever's easy," Hinata murmured. Kageyama frowned. The timidness of his partner was so out of the ordinary. He felt so much anger towards the man, Hinata's father, who made him feel that. He wanted him dead. Of course, that's too much to ask, but he at least wanted to see the man get in some sort of trouble for this.

"I think there are some leftover pork buns in the refrigerator," Kageyama mused, pretending he wasn't so upset for Hinata's sake.

"That sounds good!"

"Do you want to put in a movie?"

"Actually," Hinata smiled faintly, "I believe you have to get revenge on me from the last time we played Wii bowling."


	8. Cookies

Kageyama and Hinata had long since teamed up in playing Kinect volleyball. They found it a lot more fun to absolutely obliterate computer opponents rather than go back and forth in points. After yet another perfect set, the two pumped their fists in the air as if they'd just beaten a difficult team, like Seijoh.

Kageyama's cell phone started to ring. He went to answer while Hinata watched the highlight reel. Something about Kageyama's focused look, even in video game mode, sent shivers down his spine.

Meanwhile, Kageyama was listening to his mother talk about how bad the thunderstorm was in the next town over. "...you should have seen it, Tobi, it was like one sheet after another! It's still going strong, too!"

Kageyama always loved listening to his mother talk about storms. He used to sit out on their back porch with her when heavy storms rained down on their house. She wouldn't worry about thunderstorms like many other mothers would; instead, she would point to it, wearing an almost proud smile as Kageyama would try to touch it from the porch.

He remembered when his mom and dad used to dance in the rain. Sometimes his dad would hoist Kageyama up on his shoulders and his mom would offer him her pinky so he could pretend to dance, too. He never minded getting wet when it was in his backyard under a rainy sky.

His mother snapped him out of his memories. "Tobi? Are you listening? Is everything alright?"

"Hm? Yeah mom, everything's alright," Kageyama replied quickly. "Hey, is it okay if Hinata spends the night?"

"Why, did he come over?" Kageyama's mother sounded worried.

"Oh, he came over to practice this afternoon," Kageyama said sheepishly. "I didn't think you'd have a problem with it so I didn't ask."

"Of course I don't. And Tobi?"

"Yeah, mom?"

"Tell me if something is going on," she said seriously. Kageyama gulped.

"Yes ma'am."

"Good!" Her tone was back to being light and airy and Kageyama wondered how she could still be so happy under the stress of work. That was one of the things he loved about her. "Well, I'm going to go," she said with a sigh. "Don't go getting into too much trouble with that boy," she teased, and Kageyama blushed immensely.

"Goodnight, mom."

Kageyama hung up the phone and walked back over to the couch where Hinata was hardcore focused on the highlight reel. Kageyama waved a hand in front of his face. "Oi, Hina," he said gently.

Hinata glanced away and blushed darkly. Kageyama smiled ever so slightly; Hinata was really cute when he blushed. The thought made Kageyama blush and he wondered if it was all just a vicious cycle between them, blushing and looking away then thinking something embarrassing and blushing more and looking away more. He wondered if Hinata was even thinking the same things as he was. Probably not. Hinata wasn't the type to be gay. After all, he'd been abnormally angry after Kageyama turned that girl down. It was almost as if he was jealous.

Was he jealous of the _girl_ or of _him_?

"Hey, Hina," Kageyama said to break the silence (aside from the cheesy Kinect music). Hinata looked up at him. Sadly, he was only blushing faintly now. "Are you hungry?"

"Mm," Hinata tapped his chin in thought. Finally, he nodded.

"What should we have? There are some leftover pork buns still, some snacks, popco-"

"Let's make cookies!"

Part of Kageyama was glad Hinata was back to being his bubbly self. He missed the orange-headed dork. However, another part of him was extremely lacking in baking skills and was nervous as _hell_ to be making cookies for his crush. Even though Hinata had suggested it, he seemed appt to sit on the counter and watch Kageyama do it all.

Said boy was looking up a cookie recipe. "Aha!" Hinata cried, waving his phone triumphantly. "Sugar cookies! Whaddaya say, Kags? You could do to be a little sweeter!" he teased.

Kageyama wanted to make a snappy remark about how he'd been here for Hinata when he showed up at his doorstep. He bit his tongue, though, no matter how much he wanted to grab Hinata by the hair and-and-

Kageyama blushed. There were many things he wanted to do that involved grabbing Hinata by the hair.

Hinata giggled at his partner. "Only kidding, Kageyama," he said, patting the boy on the head gently. Kageyama shot a glare at him, but it lacked any anger.

"What do we need for the cookies?" Kageyama asked.

"Well, we need milk, butter, flour, sugar, powdered sugar, vanilla, almond extract, cream of..."

Kageyama grabbed the respective ingredients as Hinata listed them. Hinata's voice began to drift off as he just simply watched Kageyama. He moved so nimbly around the kitchen, Hinata half wondered if he was used to doing this or if he just naturally moved like that.

"What else is there?" Kageyama asked as he finally dug out the almond extract. He looked at Hinata expectantly and Hinata blushed shyly.

"C-cream of tartar, baking soda, and one egg," he said, staring intently at his phone screen. Kageyama nodded and set the final things out on the counter.

They continued like this, with Hinata reading off instructions while Kageyama did the actual _baking_ portion.

Kageyama pulled out a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer. He put the wet ingredients together. "Er, it says to mix them together on a high setting," Hinata said. Kageyama nodded and turned the mixer onto the highest setting.

The word was light. Not high.

Hinata realized this only after ingredients had gone flying around the kitchen. Kageyama's face was covered, Hinata had somehow gotten hit, the cabinets were covered...it was _everywhere_.

Hinata half debated running. However, he was frozen to his spot. His mouth had dropped to a small 'o' shape. Kageyama turned to face him and he snapped his mouth shut. Kageyama tried to pull half-mixed cookie dough from his hair, and to no avail. His cheeks had received the most of the explosion, Hinata noted, looking from one cheek to the other. He didn't notice how close Kageyama was getting to his face.

" _High_ setting, Hinata?" Kageyama asked in a dangerously calm tone.

"I-I-I-" Hinata fumbled to wipe cookie dough off his phone. "H-heh, we-well now it says l-light setting, i-instead of high! How f-funny, right?"

Kageyama leaned closer to Hinata's face, and Hinata held up his hands to protect his face and trembled under Kageyama's glare.

Kageyama immediately softened.

"Hey, Hina," he murmured, gently taking the boy's hands and moving them away from his face. "It's okay. It's kinda funny, actually."

Hinata stared at him, wide-eyed. Kageyama wasn't going to yell? He wasn't going to call him a dumbass? He wasn't going to _hit_ him?

It was then the boys realized just how close they were. Kageyama was in between Hinata's legs, not even a foot from his partner's face. He glanced down at Hinata's lips, which had a piece of cookie dough on them. "You've got a...little..." he reached to wipe it off. Hinata watched his hand touch his lips, watched Kageyama's gaze shift from Hinata's lips to his eyes to his lips again.

Could it be that Kageyama wanted _exactly_ what he wanted?

"H-hey, Kags," Hinata murmured, eyes drooping slightly as he glanced at his partner's lips. "You've got a little something, right there," he whispered, and with every word he inched closer to Kageyama's face. Kageyama didn't pull back, either.

His lips brushed chastely on Kageyama's. Hinata's eyes fell shut, as did Kageyama's, and he felt Kageyama's strong hand rest on his hip almost nervously. He pulled away slowly, letting Kageyama's lips linger on his as long as possible. He rested his forehead on Kageyama's, opening his eyes. He was relieved to see Kageyama blushing just as much as he probably was.

They didn't know who moved first, but their lips reconnected with more passion than before. Warm lips fumbled across each other, both inexperienced but uncaring in the particular moment. Hinata's arms wrapped around Kageyama's neck. The kiss deepened. Their lips became more skilled with every bump of nose on nose, every slight clash of teeth, every corner-of-the-mouth kiss.

Kageyama wondered if this was what his mother had meant by not getting into too much trouble.

Hinata pulled back to breathe. The two panted, heavy-lidded as they stared into each other's eyes, foreheads against each other. Hinata smiled weakly, tangling his fingers delicately in Kageyama's hair.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," he whispered between breaths.

"Same here," Kageyama sighed softly. He leaned in to peck a soft kiss against Hinata's slightly swollen lips.

"So, are we giving up on the cookies?" Hinata asked softly, a smile on his face. Kageyama smiled back, shaking his head.

"Will you help me this time?"

"If that's what it takes to get you to make me cookies!"


	9. Names

Hello hello~! I know that I haven't really had an introduction to new chapters before, but I just wanted to acknowledge and thank all of you for favoriting, following, and reviewing this work! I really appreciate it! If you have any suggestions or things you want to see in upcoming chapters, feel free to PM me or send my writing blog a message on Tumblr (yamamamakun)! Thank you so much!

Ever since that night, things have been, well, _different_.

A good different. A very, very good different.

Hinata would steal kisses from Kageyama whenever he got the chance. If they were practicing early at the gym and it was just the two of them, Hinata would peck Kageyama's lips whenever they successfully landed a quick. When the two of them were walking home, Hinata would randomly plant a kiss on Kageyama's cheek. If they were alone in the club room, sometimes Hinata would sneak a kiss.

Kageyama, on the other hand, was too nervous to put his hands on Hinata anywhere outside of his house. He loved Hinata's random kisses, but there was a small voice in the back of his head that kept nagging that they would get caught, and they'd get kicked off the volleyball team, and their lives would be ruined.

This particular thought made Kageyama's brows furrow as he walked a little bit closer to Hinata than usual on the way back to his house.

Hinata noticed, obviously. Kageyama looked almost _disgusted_ when Hinata's lips touched his cheek. He pulled back as if he'd been burned, wearing a look that put sad puppies everywhere to shame. Kageyama was turning his head to tell Hinata something, not even noticing his reaction, when he saw the boy wearing an ungodly frown. He reached to touch Hinata's face, to cup his cheek, _anything_ , but he drew back. Someone could see them. _Someone being someone who could tell Daichi san or Suga san or Asahi san who could then tell Coach Ukai who could then have our asses on the bench, or worse, outside the gym on the steps like before the season started._

"Oi, Kags," Hinata murmured. He could practically see Kageyama's mind panicking. He brushed his hand on Kageyama's discreetly. "Can we talk?"

"Y-yeah!" Kageyama's voice cracked. He cringed. _It's been forever since I've had that problem_ , he thought grumpily.

Thankfully, the two walked up to Kageyama's door right about then so they could talk about whatever this was in private. Kageyama hadn't even gotten his shoes off before his mother texted him telling him she was going to be a little late coming home. He informed Hinata, who nodded in understanding. Kageyama could have sworn he'd seen a glint of deviousness in his partner's eyes.

Despite his mother not being home, Kageyama pulled Hinata to the bedroom. Hinata sat down on the bed and patted the space across from him. Kageyama sat, nervous, playing with his hands like he did when he was nervous. Hinata laid a hand over Kageyama's. "You aren't in trouble. This isn't an interrogation."

"I-I know that," Kageyama replied.

"Do you?" Hinata glanced at his still trembling hands for good measure. Kageyama sighed loudly and looked Hinata in the eyes, which he had been avoiding doing.

Hinata smiled warmly, reassuringly. "I just want to know what we are," he murmured. "We need to get our story straight. What are we telling the team? Are we telling the team at all? How about your parents, or mine for that matter?"

"Hina," Kageyama caught the boy in his worries. He tried his best to comfort the boy, cupping his cheek and giving a rather nervous smile. "We'll make it through this, you and me. As long as I'm here we're indestructible, remember?"

The grin on Hinata's face was priceless. He had seen Hinata smile after he'd landed a spike against a difficult opponent, he had seen Hinata smile when he managed to wake up first at training camp and get in line for breakfast first, and he had seen Hinata smile when he thought about being back out on the court. He had seen Hinata smile when they were getting ready to go to a tough practice match. He had seen Hinata smile when they came back from a long weekend. But oh, he had never seen Hinata smile like _this._ His entire face was practically glowing. Kageyama gulped.

Oh _god._

 _Is this what love feels like?_ he thought desperately.

Hinata broke the nervous boy out of his thoughts by planting a kiss on his forehead. "I hope you'll always be here," he murmured, a shy blush creeping onto his cheeks. Kageyama could feel the same blush staining his cheeks as he reached an arm around Hinata's waist, drawing him closer.

"You'll always have me," he whispered, letting his eyes flutter shut as he pressed a soft kiss to Hinata's head, letting his boyfriend's orange hair tickle his nose in the process. Hinata sighed, burying his face in Kageyama's chest, completely content with remaining that way.

"Shouyou, you should invite your parents over for dinner sometime! I would love to meet them."

Hinata gripped Kageyama's thigh under the table until his knuckles turned white. Kageyama tried not to show pain, but _damn_ Hinata's grip was _strong_. He rubbed his hand gently on Hinata's tensed knuckles, trying to get him to relieve some of the pressure.

It wasn't unusual for Hinata to stay for dinner anymore, hell, it wasn't unusual for Kageyama's mother to ask about Hinata's home life (which he thought was odd but respected it anyways). But for her to flat out ask to meet his parents? He felt like something was up.

Kageyama wouldn't tell her...would he?

 _Kageyama could tell the moment Hinata walked into the club room that morning that his father had been home last night. He had bags under his eyes and looked physically drained, a complete contrast to his usual bright ball of sunshine self. He hated that he loved Hinata's annoyingly happy morning personality. Now he hated that he couldn't see it anywhere._

 _"Hinata, can I talk to you?" Kageyama asked casually, so as not to alarm the others in the room. Hinata glanced at Kageyama then nodded, and Kageyama followed Hinata out of the club room._

 _Once they had gotten halfway to the gym, Kageyama stopped and pulled Hinata in a different direction. He wanted to be able to show full affection without having to worry about anyone else._

 _"What's going on?" Kageyama asked, tone softened. Hinata leaned against a vending machine, staring at his hands, so Kageyama took them in his own._

 _"Dad's home," Hinata murmured, adding a bitter laugh to the end. "They were up all night fighting because my dad thinks my mom was cheating. She probably was."_

 _"What makes you say that?" Kageyama asked, trying to keep his surprise to himself. He had never heard Hinata talk about his mother like this._

 _"I don't know," Hinata sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked up at Kageyama properly for the first time since they left the club room. "Natsu came and hung out in my room, while they fought, ya know. She asked me why they were yelling. How do you answer your little sister when she asks something like that? Why should anyone have to?" Hinata had tears in his eyes by now. "I-I just want him to leave and not come back, and that's awful because he's my dad but..." Hinata drifted off, tears sliding down his cheeks and he looked back down at his hands._

 _Kageyama pulled Hinata into a tight hug. Hinata shook with sobs as his head pressed further into Kageyama's shoulder. "How can I help?" Kageyama asked softly, running his fingers through Hinata's hair soothingly._

 _"Just be here," Hinata replied softly. "Just be here for me."_

 _"I always am."_

 _The two were late to morning practice, which was unusual. Nobody really questioned it though, since Kageyama came up with the quick idea to tell everyone the reason Hinata looked like he was crying was because his dog had died that morning. The team didn't ask further questions, and neither did Kageyama. He did, however, mention a thing or two to his mother._

The two made it through dinner without Kageyama losing complete blood circulation to his leg. "Oi, Kags, it's a nice night," Hinata said as soon as he finished drying the last dish. "Let's go take a walk!"

Kageyama looked to his mother expectantly. She shrugged and smiled warmly. "Go ahead, just make sure you're back at a reasonable hour. You have school in the morning."

Hinata practically dragged Kageyama out of the house. He began whisper-shouting as soon as the door closed. "You _told_ her?! Kageyama! You told me you wouldn't!"

"I didn't tell her everything!" Kageyama defended in the same whisper-shout voice. "I just told her that you didn't get much sleep because your parents were arguing! Then she asked some questions and I answered them!"

"Tobio!" Hinata scowled.

"I didn't tell her that mu-" _wait_. "...What did you call me?"

"I-I-I didn't call you anything!" Hinata wore a blush brighter than the pink sunset above their heads.

"Did you call me...Tobio?" Kageyama was blushing as well. He loved the way Hinata said his name, even if they were in the middle of an argument.

"I-it slipped out okay?! The point is, you shouldn't have told her! You promised me you wouldn't say anything!"

"She only knows about them fighting," Kageyama tried to soothe Hinata's worries. "She asked me if they were planning to divorce. That's why she wants to meet them. She doesn't know about..." Kageyama drifted off. They didn't talk much about the night Hinata came over because of what his dad did. The story had been that he was riding his bike and the tire caught and he flew over the handlebars when the team asked.

"That's all?" Hinata let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"That's all," Kageyama replied. "Now, about my name..."

"It slipped out! I'm sorry! I was just...really upset!"

"I liked it, dumbass!"

"You...you did?" Hinata mumbled shyly, a blush rising to his cheeks. Kageyama smiled, nodded, and confidently slipped his hand into Hinata's despite being outside. Hinata's blush deepened.

"I did," Kageyama murmured back.

The two walked hand in hand around the block, pulling away when they got within eyesight of Kageyama's house. Hinata smirked gently at his boyfriend. "What's with this newfound confidence, Kags?"

"As long as you're here, I'm indestructible," Kageyama replied thoughtfully. "Shouldn't that apply with our relationship outside my room, too?"

Hinata blushed, his body going numb like putty in his boyfriend's hands. "Wow," he whispered, mainly to himself. Kageyama side-smiled at him, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"...Race you back?"

"Oh, you're on!"


	10. One Month

**Hi everyone! So a guest review on the last chapter told me it's a little confusing when I jump from scene to scene, so I'd like to explain. When I write these chapters I copy and paste them and the formatting I use to write doesn't translate very well to FanFiction, specifically the brackets I use to determine new scenes. I'd like to apologize if my work has ever gotten confusing because of that (this same piece is up on AO3 and it doesn't do that on there so I assumed it didn't do that on FF either). I'm going to start adding horizontal lines like I did in this piece where the brackets originally are in my A03 version of this. Thank you so much to the guest who made me aware of that!**

Affectionate Kageyama was the best Kageyama, Hinata decided.

Kageyama had Hinata tangled in his arms on a lazy Saturday afternoon while they watched a cheesy romantic comedy. Hinata's hand was resting over Kageyama's, which was loosely holding Hinata's hip. There was a blanket that had been wrapped around them, but their bodies produced enough heat that it'd been kicked aside within the first scene of the movie. A bowl of Skittles sat on the table next to Kageyama (Hinata's favorite) and Hinata began wondering if this is what Kageyama did for a one month anniversary, what he would do for a six month, or a year anniversary.

He began to wonder if they'd even last that long.

Kageyama still hadn't even _been_ to Hinata's house, though he'd met Natsu when they ran into each other at a volleyball league for younger kids (long story short, Kageyama wanted to pick out which one would be the best setter and who he'd train to be a prodigy). Neither of them were very keen on coming out, especially with Hinata's home life. To make matters worse, the team was getting suspicious.

Hinata sat up abruptly, almost knocking the bowl of Skittles out of Kageyama's hands. "Dumbass," Kageyama muttered. "What's wrong?"

"I want you to come over," he blurted.

"Okay," Kageyama replied coolly. He tried to hide the fact that he was internally panicking. Like, a _lot_.

"Okay?" Hinata was surprised by his calm nature. Evidently Kageyama had done a good job hiding his fear.

"I said okay," Kageyama kissed Hinata's forehead gently. "I've been meaning to talk with you about that, actually."

"About what?" Hinata was curious now. He sat up completely, and Kageyama followed suit. The two sat facing each other, Kageyama holding Hinata's hands.

"We've been dating for a month now," Kageyama murmured sheepishly. "Shouldn't we...you know... _tell_ someone?"

"I mean, I guess," Hinata shrugged. "What have you been telling your mom?"

"That you're my best friend," Kageyama replied simply. "She kind of pities me because I haven't had friends for very much of my life. She loves you, you know."

Hinata beamed. "She does?!"

"I mean, when you stay for dinner you and her do the dishes so she only has to do half the work."

"Don't you ever help her?"

"...Should I?"

"Bakageyama!" Hinata scolded, waving his finger playfully. Kageyama grabbed his hand out of the air, causing Hinata to whine. "Kags, release!"

Kageyama got a slightly devious idea.

"Say my name."

"Huh-"

"Say my name and I'll let you go."

"K-Kageyama-"

"The other one."

Hinata blushed, staring into his partner's eyes. "T-Tobio," he whispered. Kageyama blushed, smiling ever so slightly.

"Louder."

"You said-"

"I know what I said, but now I changed my mind," Kageyama murmured, puffing out his lip into a pout.

"Tobio," Hinata said slightly louder. Kageyama was about to tell Hinata to say his name louder when Hinata pulled his hand free of Kageyama's grip, rubbing it slightly. Kageyama muttered an apology; he hadn't noticed how tightly he had been holding onto Hinata. "You're such a dork," he mumbled, voice slightly deeper than before.

Kageyama smirked ever so slightly. "I guess I am, huh. But I'm _your_ dork."

"Yeah, I guess you are."

* * *

Hinata and Kageyama were giving each other side glances during practice all day. Both of them had been struggling to focus all during practice; after all, today was the day they'd agreed to tell Daichi and Suga what was going on between them. Kageyama was especially nervous to stand in front of Daichi and admit he'd been sucking face with his ex-rival.

When practice was over, Hinata asked Suga if he could talk to him and Daichi. The plan was that Hinata would begin the conversation and Kageyama would "randomly" walk in, claiming he forgot his water bottle or his shoes or something of the like.

Hinata may have neglected to tell Kageyama that their senpai already knew about Hinata being gay.

The gym cleared and Suga gave Hinata a warm smile. "So, Hinata, what is it that you want to talk to us about?"

"Remember a couple months ago when-"

"You got together with Kageyama finally?" Daichi cut him off.

"Yeah! Oh, but he doesn't know you guys know and he's supposed to be walking in any minute to-" Hinata was cut off again by Kageyama knocking on the gym door.

"F-forgot my water b-bottle," he muttered, obviously scripted. Daichi clicked his tongue softly.

"You need some acting lessons, Kageyama."

"A-anyways, what were you guys talking about?" Kageyama joined Hinata's side, making sure not to stand too close.

"How you two are together," Suga replied simply.

"H-huh?!" Kageyama gulped. "I thought we were waiting until I was here to tell them-"

"They already knew," Hinata giggled. He slipped his hand into Kageyama's and immediately his partner's furrowed brow softened.

"Well...is it okay?" Kageyama asked nervously, squeezing Hinata's hand for comfort.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Suga grinned. "There's only one rule, though, if you're going to be dating."

"What is it?" the two said in unison.

"No sex in the club room," Daichi said unnaturally seriously. "Storage room is only off limits if you don't have a key," he added with a wink.

Both first years turned red in embarrassment. "We-I-oh god-" Kageyama looked down at his shoes in embarrassment. Finally he composed himself enough to mumble a strained "yes sir" as he and Hinata turned and ran for the door.

The run turned into a sprint back to Kageyama's house, until they got to the cross where Hinata used to walk home. He looked to Kageyama expectantly, who just took his hand and continued towards his house. Hinata didn't object.

Kageyama walked up to the front door and unlocked it, with Hinata right behind him. "W-what do you think Daichi senpai m-meant by...you know..."

"I-I don't know!" Hinata's voice squeaked.

The two pondered it together while they walked into the kitchen. Kageyama had let go of Hinata's hand on the way up to his house, and he was glad he did, because somehow he had neglected to notice the extra car in the driveway.

Sitting at the kitchen table, across from Kageyama's mother, was a woman who looked all too familiar. He glanced at Hinata, who was pale as a sheet, then back to the woman.

Hinata gulped. "Mom?"


	11. Vacation

Both mothers had risen when the door opened. "Ah, Shouyou," Hinata's mother sighed with a tired smile. "I assumed you'd be with Kageyama so I came here to pick you up."

"Pick me up? For what?" Hinata asked, tilting his head curiously. He glanced to Kageyama's mother, whose lips were in a tight line. That couldn't be good.

Kageyama was a train wreck. The way Hinata's mother spoke, the look on his own mother's face, Hinata's reluctance...nothing was adding up. Well, rather, it was, but not the way he'd like it to. "Hinata can stay here," he piped up. All eyes focused on him and he could swear he saw his mother let out a sigh of relief.

"I already talked to your mother about this," Hinata's mother responded. "Shouyou _really_ needs to come on this vacation. We're going to visit family."

"Whose family?" Hinata asked before Kageyama could say anything more.

"Your father's."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Shouyou," his mother said in that warning tone again. This time Kageyama reached for Hinata's hand and squeezed. Luckily their hands were mostly hidden from sight behind their backs.

"You can go, but I'd rather stay home," Hinata insisted. "I really need to be studying for tests and getting ready for the practice match."

Hinata's mother sighed and glanced at the clock. "Oh! I need to go pick up Natsu from volleyball practice." She looked back at her son, who stood straight as a board. "We aren't done talking about this," she said as she swung her purse over her shoulder and waltzed out the door.

As soon as the door shut, all three of them let out a breath. Hinata and Kageyama were on their way down the hallway, hand in hand, when Kageyama's mother cleared her throat. "Can I talk to you two?"

They froze mid-step. Their hands came apart and simultaneously they turned to face Mrs. Kageyama. She wore a soft, motherly smile, as if she were about to tell them that they were getting a puppy. "Sit down."

Hinata and Kageyama sat at the kitchen table with Kageyama's mother across from them. Hinata's hand was on Kageyama's knee as soon as they sat, gripping his knee like Hinata did when he was afraid. Kageyama laid his hand over Hinata's and squeezed.

Kageyama's mother cleared her throat. "Hm, where to begin," she murmured thoughtfully. "Ah! Well, I suppose I should tell you what happened that led your mother to come here, Shouyou."

Hinata leaned forward, intent to hear the story.

"Your mother told me that you were going away this weekend spontaneously," she chose her words carefully. "Something about bonding with your father's family more. Naturally, I asked if your father would be joining you on the trip, and she didn't quite answer me." Kageyama's mother folded her arms in front of her, making direct eye contact with Hinata. "Shouyou, is there anything going on at home that you'd like to tell me about?"

Hinata's grip got stronger. Kageyama attempted to pry his boyfriend's hand from his thigh but to no avail. "I, um, I..." Hinata was a terrible liar and they all knew it. Finally he sighed in defeat, his grip slightly loosening on Kageyama's knee. "He's been known to do...stuff."

"Has he ever hurt you?"

"He's hit me a couple of times, yeah," Hinata's voice was distant.

"I'm going to call CPS," Kageyama's mother said firmly. "It'll be an anonymous call, so your parents won't know it was me who called and you should be able to keep visiting us," she reached across the table and rubbed Hinata's shoulder. "You're always welcome to spend the night, Shouyou. If you ever feel like you're in danger, know that you have a place to come home to." She looked to her son. "Right, Kageyama?"

"Of course," Kageyama nodded solemnly.

Hinata's eyes were glossed over. He looked like he hadn't heard a word Kageyama's mother had just said, but it was quite the opposite. He was absorbing every noise; every bird chirping outside, the dripping faucet in the kitchen, Kageyama's fingers drumming the table. He felt Kageyama squeeze his hand and nodded ever so slightly. "Thank you," he whispered.

Kageyama's mother smiled warmly and leaned across the table, kissing his forehead. "What would you like for dinner, Shouyou?"

"Oh please, don't go out of your way for me," Hinata said quickly. Kageyama couldn't help but notice the submissive Hinata returning.

"It's no trouble!" Kageyama's mother smiled warmly. "Here, if you really feel that way, then you can help me cook."

Hinata smiled widely and nodded. "Alright, then can we have pork cutlet bowls?"

* * *

Hinata sat on Kageyama's bed, playing a game on his phone. Kageyama walked into the room, toothbrush hanging from his mouth. He ruffled Hinata's hair gently and grabbed his brush before disappearing back into the bathroom. Hinata couldn't help but love how naturally they worked; at first, the two had been so nervous to even _change_ in front of each other, and now it was as if they could do anything. Hinata wondered if they could actually be a married couple.

Kageyama came back a minute later. He shut his bedroom door and walked over to the bed, flopping himself down on it. Hinata put his phone on the bedside table with an alarm set five minutes before Kageyama's mother woke up so they wouldn't be caught in an awkward position. He pressed a kiss to Kageyama's forehead, grinning. Kageyama smiled back at him warmly.

It was those rare smiles that made Hinata's heart melt. He only got those on special days, and each time he did he felt his heart turn to pudding. He threw one leg over Kageyama so he was straddling his waist, grinning down at his boyfriend as his orange mop of hair fell in front of his eyes.

Kageyama tenderly brushed his hair away from his face. Hinata nuzzled into his touch. "Hey," Kageyama whispered softly.

"Mm?" Hinata murmured back, closing his eyes and enjoying their closeness.

"Should we tell my mom?"

"If we tell her, she won't let me spend the night anymore," Hinata whispered, leaning closer to Kageyama's lips. "And you sleep like a baby with me in your arms," he teased, bumping his nose on Kageyama's.

Kageyama leaned up the short distance it was to Hinata's lips, kissing him slowly. When he pulled away, his eyes fluttered open delicately. "You're right, you're like the best cuddle buddy ever, but I hate lying to her..."

"We aren't lying because she hasn't asked," Hinata argued.

"Should we wait for her to find out on her own, then?"

Hinata tilted his head in thought at the question. "Would she be upset if she found out without you telling her beforehand?"

"Probably not, because it's you and she loves you," Kageyama sighed. He wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist. "Can we not worry about that right now, though?"

"Mm, yeah," Hinata leaned closer, one hand tenderly holding Kageyama's jaw and the other propping him up on the bed. He brushed his lips on Kageyama's nose, then brought them down towards his lips, his breath ghosting on Kageyama's lips.

"You're such a tease," Kageyama breathed. Hinata smiled lazily and nodded.

"I know I am, but I'm _your_ tease."

"You're right, you're right."

Hinata pressed his lips to Kageyama's gently. Their eyes fell closed and they shared a soft kiss, pulling back after a few seconds. Their lips reconnected almost instantly with a newfound passion. Hinata had _never_ been kissed that good. Kageyama's hands explored Hinata's body while his tongue explored Hinata's mouth. Hinata felt like putty in Kageyama's arms.

Hinata gasped and Kageyama swallowed the noise, kissing Hinata harder in return. He could almost feel his lips beginning to bruise but he didn't care. He tangled his fingers in Kageyama's hair, which was messy as _hell_ despite being brushed mere minutes before.

Kageyama hooked his fingers under Hinata's knees and in seconds he had switched their positions, so Kageyama's broad body was straddling Hinata. It was then that they broke the kiss finally, both panting heavy with lidded eyes and swollen lips.

" _God_ , Tobi," Hinata whispered softly. Kageyama blushed at the use of his name.

"W-what?"

"You're like the king of kissing too," he murmured, wearing a goofy grin as he played with Kageyama's now messy hair.

"Mm, that killed the mood," Kageyama let his arms stop holding his weight and fell on top of Hinata, receiving a small _oof_ from the smaller boy under him.

"Hey, get off!"

"But I'm just so tired..."

Kageyama made fake snoring noises while Hinata jokingly tried to shove Kageyama off of him. Finally Kageyama rolled over so he was laying sideways next to Hinata. His eyes were half-lidded and he wore a lazy smile as his fingers laced in Hinata's hair. Hinata turned to face him wearing a sleepy grin.

 _Is this what love feels like?_

"Hey, Tobi," Hinata murmured. Using Kageyama's first name was more of a habit now.

"Yes, Shou?" Kageyama decided to test Hinata's first name on his tongue. The diagnosis: he loved it; everything from the way Hinata's cheeks exploded bright red to the way it rolled off his tongue.

"I-I really like you, you know."

"I really like you too."

Kageyama moved from playing with Hinata's hair to holding his hip. Hinata leaned closer to Kageyama, burying his face in his boyfriend's shoulder.

"Let's make breakfast for your mom tomorrow morning."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because we need a good meal to go with us coming out."


	12. Vacation Pt 2

Kageyama awoke several minutes after he noticed Hinata's warm body leave his side. He sat up and rubbed his eye groggily, glaring at the clock. 6:32. Hinata was throwing on a pair of jeans. He smiled over at Kageyama, blowing him a kiss with his free hand.

Kageyama rolled his eyes and threw his legs over the side of the bed as he sat up. "You're such a dork," he mumured as he rose to his feet, padding across the room and stopping Hinata in the midst of his expedition to put his pants on. He pressed a kiss to Hinata's forehead softly. Hinata hummed in content.

"I'm your dork though," he pointed out as he shimmied the rest of the way into his jeans.

"Why're you getting dressed so early?" Kageyama asked, making no effort to move away from Hinata as he put his clothes on.

"Hmm? Oh, my mom called," he answered in a far-off voice.

"What did she call about?" Kageyama asked, more suspicious now.

"Stuff."

"Shou-"

There came a knock at the door. "Can I come in?" Kageyama's mother asked. Kageyama leapt away from Hinata and sat himself on the bed.

"Yeah," he responded after Hinata zipped his jeans.

Kageyama's mother pushed the door open, a sleepy smile on her face. "Oh? Shouyou, you're getting dressed already? It's a weekend!"

"I know," Hinata smiled. "Thank you very much for letting me spend the night, but I have to go home and pack."

"For?" Kageyama asked at the same time as his mother. They both were nosy and both too oblivious to know it.

Hinata just furrowed his brows, unable to hide his frustration anymore. "My mom called this morning telling me she would be here around seven to pick me up," he sighed. "So that we can pack and leave before my dad wakes up."

Kageyama was shocked at the blatant honesty; however, he was extremely grateful Hinata was finally openly talking about it with his mother. He was confident his mother would know what to do.

"Shouyou, if you want to stay here it can be arranged," Kageyama's mother said sternly.

"I would prefer it," Hinata replied in a serious tone. "I'll help you with dishes and I'll keep things clean and-"

"Hina," Kageyama muttered, walking over to him and resting a hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to be so worried about that. It's appreciated, but the first thing to worry about is keeping you safe."

Hinata was surprised by Kageyama's calm voice, and judging by the look on his mother's face, she was surprised too. Hinata smiled at his boyfriend warmly. "Thank you."

Kageyama just nodded and Kageyama's mother smiled warmly. "Well, I'm going to go get started on breakfast. What would you boys like?"

"Actually, we wanted to cook for you this morning!" Hinata said in his usual chipper voice. "Is that okay?"

"You want to cook for me?" Kageyama's mother looked shocked for a moment, but then she smiled. "I would love that. Thank you."

* * *

Breakfast was a disaster.

Batter lined the walls and counters. Ingredients had been spilled. Kageyama's mother had left for work with an apple and coffee just seconds before the food had been flung, tossing an "I hope you clean this up before I get home from work!" over her shoulder.

Hinata and Kageyama hadn't even registered that she had left until they heard her car pull out of the driveway. It was only then that they lowered their weapons, noticing their mess. "Oh no," Hinata whispered.

Hinata's mother had texted him telling him she would be running late, but in his and Kageyama's food battle, the two had neglected to realize that she would be there any minute to pick him up. Hinata's things were packed and waiting in Kageyama's room, but neither of them were hoping he would actually have to leave.

Hinata was just about to wet a rag and begin cleaning when there was a knock at the door. Both Hinata and Kageyama froze, then Kageyama tiptoed across the room and peeked out the window. "It's your mom," he whispered.

"Open the door," Hinata whispered back, wringing his hands together nervously.

From where Hinata was standing, he couldn't really see Kageyama or his mother. He heard their voices, though, and his mother sounded panicked. "Shouyou and I have to go if we want to catch our flight," she explained hastily.

"Flight?" Hinata called, walking towards the door. "Mom, we've never had to fly to visit family."

"Well, now we do."

"I'm staying here. There's a practice match tomorrow and I don't want to miss it," Hinata stood a little straighter.

"Shouyou, please, Natsu is already in the car and ready to go, why can't you listen for once?"

Hinata furrowed his brow and Kageyama stepped in. "Mrs. Hinata, it's really no trouble for him to stay here this weekend," he said quickly. Her focus turned to Kageyama and a scowl fell across her face.

"The plane leaves in an hour and so help me Shouyou if you aren't in this car-"

"What, you'll hit me?" Hinata said before he could bite his tongue. The words lingered in the air and he could see his mother's expression fall from anger to fear. "I'm staying here," he whispered much quieter to break the silence.

"Fine," his mother choked out, turning on her heel and walking away. Kageyama shut the door gently and pulled Hinata into his arms.

Tears slid down Hinata's cheeks. "I don't know why I said that," he whispered. "I don't know-"

"Shh, it's okay," Kageyama mumbled, rubbing his back slowly.

The two stood like that for a while in complete silence, broken every once in a while by a soft sob from Hinata. Kageyama scooped him up in his arms and carried him to the couch, setting him down. Hinata pulled his knees to his chest, sniffing quietly.

"Has she hit you before?" Kageyama asked in the gentlest voice he could. Though he was usually very awkward around people when they cried, something about it being Hinata made it okay.

"Once," Hinata sniffed, wiping his nose. He sighed and kissed Kageyama's jaw softly. "It was a night when my dad was out of town, and my mom was a little tipsy."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Kageyama mumbled, realizing he might be pushing the topic a little too hard.

"I want to," Hinata mumbled back, pulling himself sluggishly out of Kageyama's arms. "She was crying at the kitchen table, I think. Natsu came in and asked what was wrong, and she yelled at her. For some reason I stepped in and told her she shouldn't yell at Natsu like that, and she just kind of hit me," he mumbled, eyes glazed over like they did when he recalled anything involving his parents. "After that night she and I just never talked about it, and she locked herself in her room when she got drunk while my dad was gone."

"I'm so sorry," Kageyama whispered. Hinata simply shrugged.

"Not much to do about it now," he sighed and sat up a little straighter. Kageyama tenderly wiped his eyes.

"So," Kageyama nodded towards the kitchen, "are you up for round two?"


End file.
